Drawing from a 2010 Toronto Star investigation, Mulroney said a black man between the age of 15-24 is 2.5 times more likely to be stopped by police than a white man of the same age. The Star report examined six years of carding data from Toronto police.

"Do we have a problem with racially-biased policing in Canada?" Mulroney asked.

Trudeau conceded there are "real challenges" in the justice system that must be addressed.

"I congratulate people who keep calling and challenging us — whether it's Black Lives Matter or indigenous activists — saying we need to do more, we need to do better. We agree. I agree."— Prime Minister Trudeau

"But a lot of them, when you look at the root causes, have to do with education and opportunities and investment in those communities," he said. "Proper mentorship… properly moving beyond the discrimination that still does exist."

Trudeau said his government aims to tackle such challenges in a "thoughtful, broad way."

"I congratulate people who keep calling and challenging us — whether it's Black Lives Matter or indigenous activists — saying we need to do more, we need to do better," Trudeau said. "We agree. I agree. And that's what we're very much working on."